Introducing Asana's New No-code Builder: AI Studio
Asana has just released early access to its new AI tool, available to Enterprise and Enterprise+ customers. As they make updates, functionality may change. Visit this link to join the wait list and learn more.
In Asana AI Studio, you can build Smart workflows with AI agents to pass off your teams' busywork, and deploy them wherever your teams work. You can take the Early access course Building Smart workflows with AI Studio on Asana Academy.
Smart workflows can help you achieve outcomes such as:
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Automating repetitive tasks to increase strategic work
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Enhancing the quality of reporting
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Decision-making at a faster pace
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Integrating AI into your existing workflow
Using artificial intelligence, smart workflows analyze and process work based on natural language instructions from users. With AI Studio, you can set up large language models (LLMs) in minutes using Asana's rules engine. Your organization can then use smart workflows created in AI Studio.
AI Studio: How it works
Think of AI Studio as a no-code builder for making intelligent rules within Asana. Rules serve as the building blocks of workflows. By combining these rules, you can construct Smart workflows.
Smart workflows are easy to create, very similar to Asana rules, which use triggers, conditions, and actions.
With AI Studio, you can provide Asana AI with instructions in natural language and through reference materials. By using these instructions, it is possible to handle situations that require more complex logic than conventional rules. When routing a task to the right person, you can ask Asana AI to evaluate the task in accordance with a document of best practices instead of writing a rule that checks the value of a custom field from a preset list. For more information on crafting well-written instructions, see Writing instructions in AI Studio.
Enable AI Studio for your organization
Before you can use AI Studio, make sure your organization has enabled Asana AI features. Our detailed guide on enabling Asana AI features explains how to do so. A limited number of Enterprise and Enterprise+ customers are able to access AI Studio during the Early Access period. Those on other plans can join the waitlist at asana.com/ai to be notified when the service becomes available.
AI Studio can be enabled by admins, super admins, and billing owners once Asana AI features are enabled for your organization. Access to AI Studio must be granted individually to admins and other members of your organization.
Follow these steps to enable AI Studio for the first time and grant access to members of your organization:
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Open the admin console by clicking your profile picture and selecting Admin console from the dropdown menu.
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On the left side of your screen, click the Billing tab. Click Get AI Studio for free under the AI Studio section.
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To enable or disable AI Studio for your organization, toggle the page on or off.
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You can grant AI Studio access to specific members of your organization by clicking Add members when the toggle is on.
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Click Add, and type the names or email addresses of the members you wish to add. AI Studio will now be accessible to these members, and they can edit and create custom workflows.
How to create Smart workflows
The purpose of smart workflows is to pass off the busywork of your teams using AI agents embedded in them. AI Studio combines the power of large language models (LLMs) and Asana's rules engine in a user-friendly, no-code interface.
Getting started
Start by opening AI Studio and following these steps to create Smart workflows:
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In any project or in My tasks, click the Customize button in the top-right.
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Click AI Studio under the Add section.
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AI Studio will open up, and you can start to build Smart workflows.
Create your first Smart workflow in AI Studio
After opening AI Studio, you can start building your Smart workflow. Similar to Asana Rules, smart workflows use triggers, conditions, and actions.
You can use the cards When, Check if, and Do this to choose triggers, conditions, and actions. Below is an example of how these cards can be used to create a workflow.
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When: Use this card to add a trigger
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Check if: Use this card to add a condition. This is optional.
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Do this: Use this card to add an action.
Choose a trigger
Choosing a trigger in AI Studio is similar to choosing a trigger in Asana's rule builder. The trigger is the event that allows the rule to run.
Click the When… card to choose a trigger for the Smart workflow.
Set up AI
In AI Studio, the conditions and actions cards are both located within the Set up AI section.
Click on Set up AI to choose conditions and actions for your Smart workflow. The Set up AI panel will also open on the right.
In the setup panel, you can provide context and apply controls to your AI-powered rule using three main configurations:
Give AI instructions
Asana AI will follow these simple and direct instructions you provide. The first step is to describe the overall task you wish the AI to complete. In addition, you can include examples and process guidelines, either in text or as attachments, and @mention work objects like tasks and projects.
Choose an AI model
OpenAI and Anthropic provide AI Studio with access to large language models with different costs and capabilities.
Data and permissions
It is possible to configure which data is included in instructions when you @mentioned projects and tasks. The scope of data AI should process can affect the overall cost and quality of output if these settings are changed. Asana rules can only access the objects they reference (e.g., tasks, projects). By default, these objects only include (a) information from the task that triggers the rule and (b) the name of the project where the rule resides.
Asana AI can be restricted from adding collaborators from certain domains. Users in your domain may be mentioned in AI-generated text, and they can be added as collaborators. The text will simply use plaintext names if you choose not to allow certain users to be @mentioned.
Add AI conditions
With AI Studio, you can use AI to apply additional analysis or judgment to your rule condition. This is optional. Click Check if… to add a condition to your Smart workflow.
To create a conditional check which uses AI, follow these instructions:
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Click Check if… and then click Create conditional check with AI.
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Under Add condition details you can write instructions for Asana AI to follow.
Be sure to use clear and direct language when writing instructions in the instructions pane. Some example AI conditions might include the following:
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“Check if the task description is in English”
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“Check if there is enough information in the task’s description to create a user story”
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“Check if the task is asking for an approval”
Add AI actions
Click Do this… to add an action to your Smart workflow. When creating a smart rule, you can select which action should be performed, but allow AI to decide how to execute that action.
By choosing the variable Fill by AI, instead of commenting with the exact same text, you can allow AI to create a comment tailored to the information in the task. According to the instructions provided by the creator, the AI can write a comment, draft, report, or any other piece of text.
Fill by AI variable
Fill by AI allows Asana AI to perform actions based on your instructions. In the example below, Asana AI is asked to summarize any task added to the project. A comment on the task will share the output. Based on the instructions provided to the AI and the model chosen in the Set up AI panel, content is produced.
The Fill by AI variable isn’t just for writing text. Asana AI will assign the task to the right person, set the appropriate task title, and add the relevant collaborators according to your instructions by using Fill by AI in place of an assignee, a task title, or a collaborator.
The Fill by AI variable can be used in the following actions:
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Move task to section
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Move or add task to project
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Change assignee to
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Set task title to
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Set task description to
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Change custom fields to:
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Text custom fields
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Number custom fields
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Single-select custom fields
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Multi-select custom fields
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Create new task, Create subtask, Create approval
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Set task title
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Set task description
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Set task assignee
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Decide how many tasks, subtasks, and approvals to create
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Add comment
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Add collaborators
Maximizing impact through responsible use
Using AI Studio customizations responsibly and safely is key to getting the most out of them. To minimize the potential impact of their workflows, Asana encourages its customers to become familiar with the industry standard usage policies set by its AI partners (see OpenAI and Anthropic).
The workflows that Asana's customers design are their responsibility. Rather than replacing human judgment or ethics, the goal is to enhance human creativity and problem-solving. If you follow these principles, you are likely to achieve better, more meaningful results from your AI interactions while maintaining ethical standards. Experimentation, iteration, and testing are the keys to success. Adapt your prompts based on the results of your testing and don't be afraid to try new approaches.